


Strangers

by glyph_of_wolves



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Costume Parties & Masquerades, Other, based on art, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 13:59:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glyph_of_wolves/pseuds/glyph_of_wolves
Summary: Based on a piece of art by awalkingparadox11 on tumblr. Juno has given up trying to talk to Peter, and is super nervous about a party. But maybe Nureyev will surprise him.This is super short and kinda incoherent but like... i had to write something.





	Strangers

A new pseudonym. That’s how Nureyev introduced himself to Rita and Juno. Something… Gerbera. Honestly what was it with him and flowers, Juno wondered. He had a hard time remembering the name, and almost slipped a few times, but always caught himself when they were around the rest of the crew. 

Juno had tried to talk to Nureyev. There were multiple instances when they’d be left alone in the ship’s kitchen, or the passed each in the hallways. Each time Juno would start to open his mouth, but before he could get a word out Nureyev would stare him down with eyes that didn’t feel like Nureyev, and then he would leave. You couldn’t blame a lady for getting cold feet when someone was looking at him like that. With an undeniable unfamiliarity. Like they were strangers. Juno supposed they might as well have been. 

It had been a few weeks now, the only communication between him and Nureyev being occasional mandatory status checks and those uncomfortable moments alone. Gerbera called him Juno, but not in the way Nureyev said it and every time it felt like a punch to the ribs. The whole crew was currently gathered in the ship’s tactical room, as Buddy explained what was needed for this mission. Juno, Nureyev, and herself were to attend a masquerade and attempt to pin down two different marks. The only reason three of them were going was if one of them was compromised, the third could pick up the slack. Jet was driving, Rita was doing her thing (despite the SOUL debacle Juno still couldn’t quite wrap his head around computers) and Vespa was staying behind to pilot and defend the ship. 

Juno wasn’t excited. He didn’t like parties, and he especially didn’t like parties with hundreds of wealthy criminal elites hiding their faces. It made him uneasy. Especially considering what Buddy said next.

“We’ll need to go in separately as to not draw attention to ourselves” Juno tried to hide the queasy look on his face. He was used to doing things by himself, but it still made him nervous. 

Everyone else seemed fairly excited, especially Rita, who was already talking a mile per minute about their outfits and who would be there, and how it was exactly like a stream special she had watched a while ago. She helped him get ready. Juno didn’t have a hand in designing his ensemble, but he had to admit it looked good. The shimmering gold fabric looked good against his skin, and he liked how the half mask hid the scarring around his eye. Juno Steel wasn’t vain in any measure, but he knew a good look when he saw one. Before he could really take it all in, however, Rita was ushering him out of the ship towards the Ruby 7, where Jet was waiting. 

“Where are the others?”

“Buddy explained that you were all to arrive separately, yes? You are to arrive first,” This night was just getting better and better, “Despite Mr.Gerbera’s and Buddy’s extensive skills, they believe you to be the best at spotting threats to mission. You are the most paranoid.”

“Thanks, man,” Juno rolled his eye and slid into the passenger seat, and they were off. 

The party wasn’t actually that bad, much to Juno’s surprise. At the start of the night a few people came up to talk to him, and he acted like the ditzy socialite they expected him to be. He had hung around the Kanagawas to know how these people ticked. There hadn’t been any hiccups, and according to an update from Rita, Nureyev had already gotten what he needed from his target. Juno had just been hanging by a houseplant for the last thirty minutes, staring at his feet, planning to wait patiently until someone informed it was time to go. His meditation was interrupted by a voice. A familiar one.

“Mind if I have this dance?” Asked Nureyev, holding out his hand. And it was definitely Nureyev. None of his other personas came close to that exact fox’s smile, or that tone of voice. Juno was frozen, not sure of what to do. “Well?” Nureyev said, “As a gentleman I can’t in good conscience leave the lady alone, can I?” Juno gulped, took Nureyev’s hand, at let himself be lead onto the ballroom floor. Nureyev looked stunning. Like he was made to be here. His purple suit shimmered in the light of the chandelier, his hair swept back, his mask making his eyes shine. They danced silently for some time, and for a moment Juno could forget that anything had ever happened between them. They were just two strangers, members of the elite meeting here, tonight, and feeling something. And then Nureyev spoke.

“Dahlia,” He said. Juno had almost forgotten the alias he had been using and blushed, “I used to know a Dahlia. A lifetime ago.” 

“What was he like?” Juno mumbled, only half expecting an answer.

“He was my good luck charm. Though it never quite worked,” Juno couldn’t hide his slight laugh at that. “Angry at the world. Very unsure of himself. Distrusting, even of those who trusted him back,” A pause. “He left me,” It was barely a whisper, and Juno couldn’t hold back.

“Nureyev, I-” He was cut off.

“Juno,” Nureyev said, in the voice that Juno missed so much, “I won’t pretend I’m not upset,” Juno felt himself stutter for a second before falling into the rhythm again. He knew this. Peter Nureyev was allowed to be upset with him, he didn’t have the right to feel badly about that. “I don’t know when I’ll be ready to hear your explanation. I already have a few theories,” Juno tried to open his mouth; to say something, anything, but Nureyev kept going. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready. But I do,” Nureyev hesitated, looking pained, “I do miss you, detective. So let’s just be here for tonight, alright? No history,” He looked directly at Juno, and it was a look of utter love and loss. “Can you do that for me Juno?” 

Juno nodded silently, knowing that if he spoke he wouldn’t be able to hold back the flood of emotion threatening to take over. So they danced. And if something happened, where heads touched, or lips brushed against the others, it didn’t matter. They were only strangers. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first idea I had when I saw the art, my second one was like a "juno is royalty, peter is a thief who is defo crushing on juno they meet at a masquerade" type deal that I might write at some point. Maybe. 
> 
> link to art: https://awalkingparadox11.tumblr.com/post/186141563257/a-lil-jupeter-doodle-two-color-combinations-i


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